Shemsedin Callaki

When Life Gives You Lemons

Fundraising for British Heart Foundation
£37,105
raised of £10,000 target
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Event: Robin Hood Half Marathon and Marathon 2016, on 25 September 2017
Participants: Campbell Naylor, Josephine Naylor, Libby Naylor
British Heart Foundation

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 225971
We power research into heart disease to beat the UK’s single biggest killer

Story

Some of you might have heard about this guy called James? He's kind of been in the news a bit lately - they called him 'the miracle kid' on the hospital ward. He's the little chap, with the big heart, and the even bigger grin who's heart-rate was at 265bpm for 7hrs and he described it as 'not ideal'. He's the most positive guy we've ever met, and he's a genuine inspiration to us.

So, James is Jose's partner and Campbell and Libby's brother (basically), and in April this year, his life was changed forever. In the space of one day, he went from one of the fittest pro's in the cricket world, to being unable to do any endurance exercise again. Overnight, he found himself unable to play the game he loved, pursue the profession that paid his wages or engage in any of the sporting hobbies he so enjoyed.

However, he is incredibly lucky to be alive at all. Ninety per cent of the time, James's condition is only discovered post-mortem, and it is only thanks to his incredible physical fitness and the amazing staff at Nottingham's hospitals that he is alive today. So, after sitting in his hospital room for days and watching his heroically positive recovery, it was hard not to look at him and feel immensely proud and inspired. So we want to put our own hearts through their paces, and try and raise as much money as possible for an amazing charity that has not only touched our lives, but has also touched millions of people in the UK.

In the immediate aftermath, the British Heart Foundation were instrumental in helping James begin his recovery. Many people have remarked on his positivity following his diagnosis, and this is something the BHF's specialist nurses have facilitated through helping James understand his condition, the long term options and the immediate priorities. Research conducted by the BHF has meant James's heart can be monitored from a chip implanted in his chest, meaning he has been able to begin his recovery at home instead of from a hospital bed, which has helped his mental healing enormously. His recovery at home is also dependent on his 'life vest', and so our target (£3,000) is the cost of a 'life vest' for one month.

Whilst James would have waltzed around a marathon course, we are not blessed with such endurance capabilities, so this really is a challenge! Libby has the stride length of a field mouse, Josephine has always had an 'on-off' relationship with exercise (predominately off) and Campbell will be carrying a good bit more weight around the course than would be ideal! So please give generously! Who knows, once we've done it, we might just have an excuse to join James in his retirement!

#WhenLifeGivesYouLemons #LifesTooShort

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About the charity

British Heart Foundation

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 225971
Coronary heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer but we are leading the fight against it. Your donations power our life-saving research. Help us keep more families together. Join our fight for every heartbeat.

Donation summary

Total raised
£37,104.68
+ £2,341.30 Gift Aid
Online donations
£36,514.68
Offline donations
£590.00

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